Next Nottingham Forest manager: Mauricio Pochettino on 'four-man shortlist' to replace Nuno Espirito Santo

Nottingham Forest supposedly 'widely admire' four managers with Premier League experience as Evangelos Marinakis and Edu search for Nuno Espirito Santo's successor.

Santo became the first coaching casualty of the Premier League season on Monday night, as the Tricky Trees announced that the Portuguese had been relieved of his duties following a period of off-field turmoil.

Santo's relationship with owner Marinakis and Global Head of Football Edu was broken beyond repair owing to a personal rift with the latter, and he made no bones about the problems upstairs during recent press conferences.

The Tricky Trees have a daunting assignment against Arsenal waiting for them on Saturday lunchtime following the international break, and it is currently unclear who will be taking charge of the Europa League competitors at the Emirates Stadium.

According to Sky Sports News reporter Rob Dorsett, the Garibaldi have shortlisted four coaches to replace Santo at the City Ground, including former Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Pochettino "very much admired" by Forest after Santo sacking

The Argentine is currently in charge of the USA national team, whom he is under contract with until the end of the 2026 World Cup, but his start to life with the Yanks has been mixed to say the least.

Pochettino has overseen 10 victories and seven defeats from his opening 17 matches in charge of the World Cup co-hosts, including a Gold Cup final loss to Mexico in July and 2-0 friendly defeat to South Korea earlier this month.

Dorsett adds that Fulham's Marco Silva - Santo's compatriot - is also among the coaches who are "very much admired" by the powers-that-be at the City Ground, as are Crystal Palace's Oliver Glasner and Bournemouth's Andoni Iraola.

However, the Tricky Trees may have to fend off the threat of a Big Six club to hire one of the latter two, and interestingly, Dorsett does not mention either Jose Mourinho or Ange Postecoglou as one of the bosses under consideration.

It had been separately reported that Forest are considering approaches for both former Tottenham managers, who are out of work after being let go by Fenerbahce and Spurs respectively.

How the Santo and Marinakis Forest saga unfolded

The first hint of tension between Santo and his superiors was evident on the pitch last season, where Marinakis memorably stormed the field against Leicester City to remonstrate with the Portuguese after a draw with the relegated outfit.

It was subsequently revealed that Marinakis's anger stemmed from Taiwo Awoniyi being allowed to play on after a suffering a ruptured intestine, but things were looking up for Forest when they took Crystal Palace's place in the Europa League.

However, Santo spoke candidly about his side being "unbalanced" and "very far" from where they want to be just before the Premier League season started, shortly before a quadruple swoop for Omari Hutchinson, Arnaud Kalimuendo, James McAtee and Douglas Luiz was completed.

The Portuguese then gave his unforgettable press conference before his side's draw with Palace, admitting that his relationship with Marinakis had changed for the worse, but the owner had no intention of firing him.

The pair then appeared to be on the path to rebuilding bridges, as Marinakis affirmed that he wanted to keep Santo at the club, and the head coach also expressed a desire to stay put ahead of planned talks during the international break.

Dorsett adds that such a meeting did not take place, though, and Marinakis feels that now is the time for a new chapter after being left "furious" by Santo's public comments.